Museum of Material Memory

The Motor Driving Licence was issued in the former East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) in the city of Dhaka, where my mother tells me her father lived for some time.

May 7, 2023

The Ridges of a Thekua Mould

Household

In the year of Madhubala’s Tarana, my great-grandfather bought an ornate wooden item for my great-grandmother from Madhubani. It was a Thekua mould made out of mango wood in the colour tan, lightweight and palm-size, the first gift purchased after their marriage.

February 26, 2023

Pachisi, Sepoys, Cowries: My Grandparents’ Tabletop Story

Heirlooms

Throughout history, pachisi was the ‘poor man’s chaupar’. But to my grandmother, whose childhood pachisi grids were scribbled in chalk, my grandfather’s novelty board — like rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls sewn together — seemed no less regal. “She embroidered each bead herself,” she tells me, looking back at the outbursts, meltdowns, and amusement this game brought to my grandparents’ living room 60 years ago. “I guess she’d be your great-great-grandmother”.

November 20, 2022

Palli Palagai: a telling object of South India’s maritime stories

Books

Palagai or Palavai, like it is called colloquially, is a wooden plank which was used as a reading and writing material for Arabic language in the provincial town of Kayalpatnam, Tamil Nadu. It was used actively until the turn of the 21st century by the Palli-going kids in the town. Palli translates to ‘school’ and ‘mosques’ in Tamil. But in Kayalpatnam it has also got another meaning. A Palli is a private residence or a public place where reading classes in Arabic are given to young kids as small as three year olds.